From Summer To Table  

One of the best things about summer is the season’s amazing produce. To help your family make the most of this abundant season, we asked some of our favorite family-friendly food bloggers and editors—Kelsey Banfield of The Naptime Chef, Jeanine Donofrio of Love and Lemons, and Jenna Helwig of Parents magazine—to share a summery recipe. Use these as inspiration when struck by the dinner-time doldrums strike, or cook the full menu for a fresh vegetarian feast.

Can’t-Miss Cantaloupe Smoothie & Ice Pops
From Jenna Helwig

 Pale orange and refreshing, this smoothie isn’t super thick, but it has a lovely fresh cantaloupe taste. Use green grapes for the prettiest color. To make ice pops, simply pour the smoothie into molds and freeze for a few hours. Paper cups and Popsicle sticks will also do the trick. -Jenna Helwig

Servings: Makes 2 smoothies

 Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2.5 cups cubed cantaloupe
• 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 1/2 cup frozen grapes

Instructions:

1. Add all of the ingredients to the blender, starting with the almond milk.
2. Cover and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.

Excerpted from Smoothie-Licious, © 2015 by Jenna Helwig. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Jenna Helwig is the food editor at Parents magazine, as well as a culinary instructor, personal chef, and founder of Rosaberry, a culinary services company—and the author of two cookbooks: Real Baby Food and Smoothie-Licious. jennahelwig.com

Mix and Match Mini Pizzas, from Love and Lemons

 [Editor’s Note: We love these mini pizzas because of their flexibility—check out the tasty topping options below, or come up with your own variations.]

 Servings: 8 pizzas, serves 4

Ingredients:

• 8 Stonefire Mini Naan
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling at the end
• Sea salt and freshly ground  pepper, to taste

Topping Option #1: Tomato Pesto

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika    (mix with the tomatoes)
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts a good slather of Kale Pepita Pesto (recipe at right)

Topping Option #2: Poblano Corn & Pepita

• Fresh mozzarella slices, 2-3  pieces per mini pizza
• 1 large poblano, grilled, deseeded and sliced into thin strips
• 1 ear fresh corn, grilled and kernels cut off the cob
• 2 tablespoons pepitas dollops of Kale Pepita Pesto, after baking (recipe below)

Topping Option #3: Blackberry Feta & Arugula

• Fresh mozzarella slices, 2-3 pieces per mini pizza
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup blackberries, lightly crushed
• drizzle of balsamic vinegar
• A few leaves of fresh mint
• A few leaves of arugula

Kale-Pepita Pesto

• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 1 small garlic clove
• 2 packed cups baby kale (or mix of kale and basil)
• Juice and zest of 1 small lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon honey or maple syrup (optional to offset bitterness)

 Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (or heat an outdoor grill).
2. Make the pesto by pulsing the pepitas and garlic together in a food processor. Next add the baby kale and pulse again. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, cumin, dijon mustard and a few pinches of salt and freshly ground pepper. Pulse again, then with the food processor running, add the olive oil until the pesto emulsifies. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired. If your pesto is a little bitter from the kale, add a little bit of honey or maple syrup to balance the flavors.
3. Assemble naan pizzas with toppings of your choice; be sure to add the mint and arugula after your pizzas are done baking.
4. Bake for 12-18 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Drizzle with olive oil if you like and dig in!

Jeanine Donofrio creates recipes inspired by seasonal produce on her blog, Love and Lemons. Her husband Jack helps taste-test, and together they photograph their culinary creations in their kitchen in Austin, TX. loveandlemons.com

Watermelon Goat Cheese Salad, from the Naptime Chef

 Since watermelon can get soggy, try not to assemble this salad until just before you are ready to serve it or take it in the car to the party. Be sure to include a wide, shallow spoon for guests to serve it with. If you won’t have goat cheese, crumbled feta would taste wonderful too. -Kelsey Banfield

Servings: Serves 8-10

 Ingredients:

• 1 small red watermelon (about 4 cups), cut into chunks
• 1 small yellow watermelon (or about 4 cups)
• 6-7 large basil leaves, shredded
• 2-3 tablespoons balsamic syrup (instructions below)

Instructions:

1. To make the syrup, combine 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar with 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved and mixture reduces by half. Remove from heat and cool. Can be made ahead.
2. Combine the watermelons in a wide, shallow dish. Sprinkle the goat cheese on top, followed by the basil, then drizzle with the balsamic syrup. Serve!

Kelsey Banfield shares everything from family-friendly recipes, to travel articles, to her favorite lifestyle tips on her blog, The Naptime Chef. She is also the author of two cookbooks, The Naptime Chef: Fitting Great Food Into Family Life, and The Family Calendar Cookbook: From Birthdays to Bake Sales, Good Food to Get You Through the Year. thenaptimechef.com